We have now entered a completely new phase in the story of the Jewish people: the slavery in Egypt.  Before sending Moshe to Egypt to begin the redemption from the long, hard slavery, the Torah says: “During those many days, it happened that the king of Egypt died, and the Children of Israel groaned because of the hard work and they cried out.  Their outcry because of the work went up to God.  God heard their moaning, and God remembered His covenant with Avraham, with Yitzhak, and with Yaakov.”  (Chapter 2, Verses 23-24)

Rebbe Noson comments that the time period we begin this week is called the Shovavim (which is an acronym for the first six parshas of the book of Shemot- Shemot, Va’Eira, Bo, Beshalach, Yitro and Mishpatim).  During this time of the year some people have the custom to fast and to cry out to Hashem with extra prayers of teshuva, because during these days we read in the Torah about the exile in Egypt and the Jewish people’s redemption, which they merited because of their screams and moaning.  Also today in our current state of exile, we need to cry out to Hashem and pray for our redemption just as our ancestors did in Egypt.  Rebbe Noson explains that the main reason for all of the suffering and expressions of exile which a person goes though is because of a lack of knowledge, which is the aspect of shovavim.  In addition to being an acronym of the parshas mentioned above, the word shovav means mischievous or naughty in Modern Hebrew.  Without proper knowledge of the Torah and connection to our faith, we wander in the world like a crazy and mischievous person.  However, when a person understands his current state of exile, how he is going after the arbitrary desires of his heart and not looking at the true purpose of his life, surely he will have mercy on himself and scream a lot to Hashem for help.  Through prayer and crying out to Hashem a person will merit ‘to give birth’ to knowledge and expanded consciousness, meaning that Hashem will hear his prayers and grant him more knowledge.  Through our prayers we can all merit both the general redemption and our own personal redemption, because all of our suffering in exile is due to a lack of knowledge. (Likutei Halachot, Laws of Cutting Hair, 5th teaching)

Our salvation depends on using our power speech to speak words of prayer, and allowing our voices to cry out to Hashem.  Speech is an expression of our thoughts and feelings, and in a deeper sense it is an expression of our soul.  Rebbe Nachman says, based on the Holy Zohar and the Arizal (Rabbi Yitzhak Luria z”l), that on Pesach our power of speech left the exile.  This is the aspect of Pe-sach, which means in Hebrew that our mouth is speaking and conversing.  The Zohar explains that during the exile in Eygpt the Jewish people’s speech was also in exile and they couldn’t pray with words, only with groans and screams, as the Torah describes above. (Rebbe Nachman’s Wisdom, 88^th Teaching)  So to in our lives today, a large part of our own personal redemption from our personal Egypt is through the power of speech, specifically being able to express ourselves in prayer and being able to share with those who are close to us what we are going through.

I have felt in a personal sense strongly connected to this teaching this week.  I just expressed to Hashem a few days ago in personal prayer that I feel like this is part of my galut (exile), not being able to express myself many times the way that I want to.  I feel this also in my connection with G-d and also in personal relationships, both with family and with other people I meet.  An example of this is that sometimes I hear in my head what I want to say to somebody, even just asking a simple question, and then something inside of me (probably fear) stops me from actually asking the question.  This pains me.  There are also words I want to express from my heart sometimes and I hold back and remain quiet.  I have heard it explained that knowledge is when our hearts and our minds are connected and in harmony.  Many times our heart doesn’t agree or want to follow what we understand to be true in our minds.  I think that returning to true knowledge, as discussed in Rebbe Noson’s teaching above, is when our minds and our hearts become connected again through prayer.

“Against the length of this current exile which is called the exile of Edom… there is no advice and wisdom and understanding other than praying many prayers and supplications and yelling and screaming to Hashem without measure, because prayer is above everything and includes all of the fifty gates of holiness.” (Outpouring of the Soul, 82^nd Teaching)

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“Yaakov lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; and the days of Yaakov- the years of his life- were one hundred and forty-seven years.” (Chapter 47, Verse 28)  The Sages teach in the Midrash Raba, as well as in the Holy Zohar, that the final seventeen years of Yaakov’s life were the main years of his life because he lived in happiness and comfort.  Rebbe Noson asks a question on this Midrash: it’s hard to understand that when Yaakov dwelled in the land of Israel he didn’t dwell in tranquility, but when he lived the last years of his life in the impure land of Egypt, why was he was able to live specifically there in tranquility?

He answers that this question can be explained by the verse in the prophet Isaiah, “they will attain joy and gladness, and sadness and sighing will flee.” (Chapter 35, Verse 10)  Rebbe Nachman explains in Likutei Moharan (Part 2, Torah 23) that complete simcha (happiness) is when a person overcomes his difficulties and sadness and is able to turn them into happiness.  He is able to be happy even when events in his life should cause him to be sad and worried.  Rebbe Noson explains, based on the verse from the Prophet Isaiah, that the main way to clarify matters of holiness and redeem them from the chambers of exchange[1] is through simcha, and specifically by turning sadness and depression into joy.  All of the forms of exile which the Jewish people have gone through, their main expression is the exile of the soul, meaning that the Jewish soul is far from its Father in Heaven, and it feels sadness because of this.  This is the aspect of the brothers’ sale of Yosef to Egypt, because specifically through the difficulty and pain of his sale they were able to be sustained afterwards when they descended to Egypt, as Yosef said to his brothers, “And now, be not distressed, nor reproach yourselves for having sold me here, for it was to be a provider that G-d sent me ahead of you.” (Chapter 45, Verse 5)  Eventually Yaakov and all of his sons descended to dwell in Egypt, and specifically there he was able to dwell in happiness and tranquility.  Yaakov understood after he went to live in Egypt that also the final redemption will be through this test of revealing holiness and lifting up the Jewish souls which have fallen into all kinds of exile.  The Tzaddikim, like Yaakov and Yosef, have the power to turn exile and pain into happiness and joy.  They are able to help a person, with their advice and the strength of their holiness, to turn everything around for the best, against these bad forces which want to turn truth into lies and happiness into sadness.  (Likutei Halachot, Laws of Blessings on Smell and Thanksgiving, 6^th teaching)

By being in a state of happiness we can return to Hashem and reveal holiness and Hashem’s presence in the world.  Happiness is also our main source of vitality.  Rebbe Nachman teaches that simcha is the world of freedom.  When we are in a state of happiness our mind is free and expanded, and we can see our reality and experiences with the light of faith and make good decisions (Likutei Moharan, Part 2, Torah 10).  The big question is how do we find the strength to overcome our nature to sink into sadness, heaviness and depression and merit to be truly happy and alive?

Rebbe Nachman’s spoke a great deal about the importance of being happy and he gave a lot of teachings of advice of how to obtain it.  Firstly, we need to know that it is something we need to work on, it doesn’t come automatically.  It is not just a gift from Heaven.  Rebbe Nachman says that we need to overcome our inclination to fall into sadness with everything we have and to make ourselves happy anyway that we can, even by doing silly things and telling jokes (Likutei Moharan, Part 2, Torah 24).  Telling jokes and being silly helps us to break out of our regular patterns of behavior and social norms, which many times cause us to be too heavy and too serious.  Singing and dancing can also bring us to happiness.  Another aspect of overcoming our nature and normal tendencies is in the world of thought.  Rebbe Nachman teaches that it’s impossible for a person to think two thoughts at the same time (Likutei Moharan, Teaching 233). Therefore, we have the power to focus on good thoughts, on thoughts which encourage us and give us strength and faith, and to leave behind the thoughts which weaken us and distance us from happiness.  Thoughts also come and go quickly, so there is no reason to wage war with them, just let them pass and try to think of things which make you happy.  Remembering better times, times when we felt happy and things were going really well, can help us find happiness and strength when life feels hard and difficulties arise.  Looking for and finding the good points in ourselves help us to focus on our good deeds and the good we are blessed with in our lives, and this can bring us to happiness.  These are just a few examples of ways to increase our happiness on a daily basis and overcome the situations, thought patterns and experiences which drag us down into sadness, laziness and depression. (Based on Ran Weber’s new book, To Be Happy, 3^rd Section)

We should be blessed to increase the amount of happiness in our lives, and to help others find more happiness in their lives too!

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[1] This is a spiritual concept which means that holiness becomes exchanged for impurity; a person mistakenly thinks that he belongs to impurity and sin, when in reality he has a holy soul which comes from Hashem.  This is the deeper message of Rebbe Nachman’s story called the Exchanged Children.

Stories told by the Chassidic masters and stories about their deeds and their lives have great importance in the Chassidic tradition.  In this week’s parsha we learn the story of Yosef and his brothers, and his sale into slavery in Egypt because of the brothers’ hatred.  “Yosef dreamt a dream which he told to his brothers… His brothers said to him, ‘Would you then reign over us?  Would you then dominate us?  And they hated him even more- because of his dreams and because of his talk.’” (Chapter 37, Verses 5, 8)

Rebbe Noson explains based on this verse that the Tsaddik reveals lofty and awesome secrets of the Torah specifically through stories and even through his (seemingly) mundane conversations.  By way of his stories he is able to awaken people from their spiritual slumber and help them return to Hashem.  This is the secret, he says, of why after the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden the Torah states that Hashem clothed them, which alludes to how the Torah clothes or hides deep and wondrous secrets in the stories told in the Torah.  Rebbe Noson gives further examples of this principle: Ya’akov needed to disguise himself in the clothing of his brother Esav in order to receive the blessings from his father Yitzchak.  This is also the deeper meaning of the story of the dreams which Yosef tells at the beginning of the parsha.  Rebbe Noson says that even in the stories and dreams which common people tell there are special messages which can be learned, however most people don’t understand the deeper meaning of the story or dream.  Only a great Tsaddik, like Yosef, knows how to find the deeper meaning in them.  Afterwards, when he was imprisoned in Egypt, Yosef was able to solve Pharaoh’s dreams and rise to greatness because he knew how to interpret the deeper meaning of dreams.  (Likutei Halachot, Laws of Theft, 3^rd teaching)

We can learn a lot from these stories, the stories that Rebbe Nachman told, as well as other great Chassidic masters and Tsaddikim.  I once heard, from a teacher at the Breslov workshop which I learned at a few years ago, that there are places in our soul which can only be reached through music or through stories.  Sometimes we can understand important messages about life better through a story, it has the ability to touch our hearts and impress us in a deeper way than hearing the same teaching in a direct manner.

It has been very special for me to learn with my older daughter the past few years a series of Rebbe Nachman’s stories adapted for children.  This past summer during the time of parent and child learning on Shabbat I would read a story with my daughter and some of her friends.  It was really one of the highlights of Shabbat for me, because I saw how the stories grabbed the children’s attention, and how much they contain powerful teachings which someone can relate to and learn from at any age.  Many times I have found myself inspired from reading the stories together, and I saw that it really made an impression upon me.

A few years ago in Uman I bought for my daughter a story book, written by Rav Shalom Arush, about the life of the holy Baal Shem Tov.  Once, when we were reading it together I began crying as I read the words.  The Baal Shem Tov’s father passed away when he was a very small child, at the age of 5.  In the book his father says to him before his death, with great emphasis, “I want to tell you something very important, the most important thing in the world, which you should know and guard the rest of your life: ‘Hashem is always with you, he’s always protecting you and always sees you, he loves you, and he’s never going to leave you.’”  Aside from the deep and simple message of faith contained in these words, which touched me, I think it touched me even deeper because of my father’s death three and a half years ago.  I remember during the first few weeks after I found out about his death crying intensely when I was by myself in personal prayer and even at other times during the day.  Despite the strong pain I felt by his sudden death, I also felt in those moments a deep feeling of Hashem’s love and His closeness.  The tears were so healing, it’s something which is hard to explain.  As I read the story with my daughter, a few years after his death, I felt again this feeling of deep connection and love with Hashem, by reading these seemingly simple words written for children.

Good advice.  We all feel many times during the day and in our lives in general unsure about something and we want to know: what is the best advice for me in this situation?  In this week’s parsha Ya’akov and Esav meet again after many years, and Yaakov knows that Esav still hates him and wants to kill him.  Ya’akov prepares for the encounter:  “Then Ya’akov sent angels ahead of him to Esav his brother to the land of Seir… The angels returned to Ya’akov, saying, ‘We came to your brother, to Esav; moreover, he is heading toward you, and four hundred men are with him.’  Ya’akov became very frightened, and it distressed him. So he divided the people with him, and the flocks, cattle, and camels, into two camps.  For he said, ‘If Esav comes to the one camp and strikes it down, then the remaining camp shall survive.” (Chapter 32, Verses 4-9)

Ya’akov divided his camp into two, so that the other camp, with Ya’akov’s family, could flee to safety while his first camp was fighting Esav’s force.  Rebbe Noson explains a very important spiritual lesson that we can learn from Ya’akov’s strategy of dividing his camp into two.  When we see that it’s hard to obtain complete advice, we should act in any case according to whatever part of the advice we can fulfill.  Meaning that a person should try to hold on to whatever he can in his service of Hashem, whatever mitzvah or good deed, even if he’s not able to fulfill it completely.  When one sees that the evil inclination is attacking him and overtaking him, it seems to him that he doesn’t have strength to stand up to it properly, and any type of advice he tries to think of he’s not able to carry out properly. The main advice in this situation is to rely upon the strength of the true tsaddik, that whichever path he’ll choose to walk on the Tzaddik will guide him to find Hashem…A person needs to decide strongly in his heart that he won’t retreat completely from serving Hashem, and he’ll never cause himself to despair; on the contrary, he should say to himself, ‘I’m standing guard and trying to catch whatever good, whatever mitzvahs I can, so that the remaining camp shall survive.’  Rebbe Noson gives an example: when a person wants to learn a lot or spend a lot of time in prayer, and he sees that it’s hard for him to fulfill his will, nevertheless he should be strong-willed that in any case, whatever good he can grab in his life, he will make every effort, with all of his strength to grab whatever he can every day of his life.  If he can’t pray properly, nevertheless he should say a small prayer or supplication, and continue to have strong desires to serve Hashem and cry out to Him, ‘please save me.’  He concludes that this principle is true in every area of life where we want to do something good, and we’re prevented from doing it or it seems like it’s too hard for us to accomplish. (Likutei Halachot, Laws of the New Month, 7^th teaching)

For many people in this ‘instant generation’ being able to do whatever I want to do or purchase whatever I desire in an instant has become a built-in expectation.  This expectation can cause somebody a lot of frustration when they are met with obstacles to obtaining their desire.  Rebbe Noson teaches us here a completely different perspective: to grab whatever good I can in the moment, even if it’s not perfect.  This is something I really struggle with personally.  I have certain subjects I want to learn every day in Torah study, for example,  and when I can’t fulfill this desire the way I’d like to for whatever reason, it’s very hard for me to be happy with the ‘partial advice’, being satisfied with whatever I’m able to accomplish that day.  Being able to let go of the complete advice, how we think things should work out, teaches us faith and humility.  We are not in charge.  I think that this is the good advice we can learn here from Ya’akov’s strategy with Esav.  To let go of all our illusions of how we should be able to do something, of what should be the ideal situation, and to do our best to do whatever good we can in the moment.

One of the major events in this week’s parsha is Yaakov’s marriage to Rachel and Leah and the birth of eleven of Yaakov’s twelve sons.  After suffering with infertility, Rachel gives her maidservant Bilhah to Ya’akov as a wife.  “Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant, conceived again and bore Ya’akov a second son.  And Rachel said, ‘Sacred schemes have I maneuvered to equal my sister, and I have also prevailed!’  And she called his name Naphtali.” (Chapter 30, Verses 7-8)  Rashi comments that the name Naphtali alludes to stubbornness, (Rachel said) ‘I have stubbornly pleaded many torturous pleas to G-d that I may be the equal of my sister.’  (The translation of Rashi is from the Metsudah Chumash)

After quoting Rashi’s explanation of the name Naphtali, Rebbe Noson says that this teaches us how much a person needs to pray a lot and engage in personal prayer all the days of their life.  One needs to be very persistent to keep praying, just like Rachel was, even though it seems like his words are having no effect, and he feels far from his own words, because he sees that it has been days and years that he’s spending time praying and (it seems like) he still hasn’t accomplished anything.  Nevertheless one needs to be very determined, just like a stubborn person who does something without reason; so to in the service of Hashem, Rebbe Nachman teaches that you need to be very determined, and the main area where someone needs to be determined is in prayer and supplications.  Even if your prayers will feel many times like they have no taste or smell, meaning that you won’t feel any deep connection or any connection at all, keep going, because G-d is full of mercy at all times, and surely he hears your prayers. (Likutei Halachot, Laws of Tefillin, 5^th teaching)

Rebbe Nachman teaches that through prayer a person can obtain everything, every good spiritual level and every blessing (Likutei Moharan II, 111), so why does Rebbe Nosson teach us how persistent we need to be to strengthen ourselves in prayer and not give up?  With this awareness that through prayer we can accomplish any positive goal that we want and merit blessings in our life, why do we need to be tireless to keep praying?  Rebbe Nosson explains in another teaching that there are two types of negative influences which can confuse a person and weaken his efforts to pray.  The first one tricks a person into believing that all of his prayers are in vain and that they are having no effect, G-d forbid; the second type happens when a person begins to see that Hashem has heard his prayers in certain matters, there are rays of hope; therefore he (mistakenly) thinks that he doesn’t need to keep praying and he lets go of continuing to pray.  Everyone experiences many difficulties and challenges in life, and therefore Rebbe Nosson says, we need a lot of salvations all of our lives to overcome the challenges and reach our ultimate goal of knowing and revealing Hashem in the world. (Likutei Halachot, Laws of Inheritance, 4^th teaching)

This teaching of encouragement by Rebbe Nosson really struck me and helped me to look at personal prayer in a new way this week.  I feel many times in personal prayer like I’m not doing anything, not accomplishing anything, I’m confused, my thoughts wander, I want to focus, connect to my heart and express myself, but it’s hard.  However, this lesson taught me that what matters is commitment and consistency, being determined to keep trying.  So I tried this week to just listen to what is going on inside of me, take a look at the day which passed and express it in a simple way before G-d, without expectations.  When I felt stuck or lost, I would just tell Hashem, ‘I’m lost right now, my heart is closed, please help me.’  Rebbe Nosson’s words encouraged me that even if I get lost and feel disconnected, even if I feel like my heart is closed and I have no idea what to say, it’s okay and it’s even good.  Because every word, every prayer, and every song we sing before Hashem, every scream and every sigh makes a difference.  The Sages teach in the holy Zohar that even the good will that a person has, even if he’s not able to actualize it, is not lost and it has a positive influence in the world.

Our prayers are heard and every prayer matters, be persistent and never give up!

We have now entered a new stage in the book of Bereshit.  Avraham and Sarah have passed away, Yitzhak marries Rivkah, and after twenty years of prayer and longing, Rivkah gives birth to twin boys, Yaakov and Esav.  “The children agitated within her, and she said, ‘If so, why am I thus?’  And she went to inquire of Hashem.  And Hashem said to her: ‘Two nations are in your womb; two regimes from your insides shall be separated… The first one emerged red, entirely like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esav.  After that his brother emerged with his hand grasping on to the heel of Esav; so he called his name Yaakov…” (Chapter 25, verses 22-26)  As we see in this week’s parsha, Yaakov and Esav had very different character traits and their lives took very different paths.

Rebbe Noson writes that Yitzhak made a mistake with his son Esav when he saw that he was born with red hair, because he thought that the strong amount of blood inside of him, as expressed in his skin and hair color, meant that he possessed a lot of holy brazenness, like King David, who was also a redhead and a fierce warrior.  Yitzhak was fooled by his son Esav, about whom Rashi says that he would trap (people) with his mouth.  Esav tricked his father with questions like ‘how do you take tithes from straw?’ as if he was a Tsaddik who cared about the laws of the Torah (straw is not a food product which needs to be tithed before eating).  The Midrash on the parsha explains that Shmuel the prophet was also mistaken when he saw King David for the first time because of his red complexion; he said in fear ‘even he is a murderer like Esav!’  G-d replied to him, ‘with beautiful eyes.’  David also had tremendous power and courage like Esav, but he used these qualities to serve Hashem as the King of the Jewish people.  Rebbe Noson concludes that it is hard to distinguish between brazenness which is used against holiness, like Esav, and brazenness which is used for the sake of holiness, like King David.  Yitzhak was mistaken about who his son Esav really was, and Shmuel was mistaken when he first saw King David.  Esav and David possessed a similar quality of brazenness, but we see from their lives that they expressed it and used it in very different ways. (Likutei Halachot, Laws of Gifts, 5^th teaching)

Emotions or character traits are not in and of themselves bad or good.  The question is how we express them, and how to find the proper balance if a character trait is being expressed in an unhealthy way.  For example, anger is bad when it causes us to scream at someone else and say hurtful words, G-d forbid; on the other hand this same (incorrect) expression of strength is also what helps us be assertive when needed, or to find the courage to overcome a negative desire which we know is bad for us.  Fear is negative when it prevents us from doing something which we know we need to do, or if we are afraid to speak with someone because we are afraid of their potential reaction; but it has a positive side which is cautiousness and fear of Heaven, being careful and sensitive of how we interact with others and how we fulfill Hashem’s commandments.  In contrast, love is usually thought of as an emotion which is only good, and something which most people feel they are lacking in their lives.  However, love can also be something negative when someone engages in physical desires, or develops an addiction, because they are mistakenly looking for real love in the wrong place.

Nobody has inside themselves any trait which is essentially bad.  Each person received exactly the strengths, talents, and also the life challenges and conditions which they need in order to do their special role in the world.  In G-d’s plan there are no mistakes.  It is our choice to look at ourselves and say, ‘okay, these are my talents and these are my faults, what can I do with them and where do I go from here?’  Through prayer, learning, and seeking advice we can learn to turn even those character traits and emotions which we have struggled with for a long time into something good and a blessing for ourselves and for others.

(The discussion about character traits was inspired by a recent class given by Rav Erez Moshe Doron)